London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Six people were killed in a tower block inferno becauseof a "serious failure" by a London council and its contractors, an inquest jury decided today.

It blamed Southwark council's botched refurbishment of
Lakanal House in Camberwell for the speed with which a blaze was able to rip
through the 14-storey block and leave firefighters unable to reach trapped
residents in time.

The London fire brigade was also heavily criticised for
"insufficient efforts" to prioritise the rescue of the trapped
victims, including Catherine Hickman, who made a 999 call pleading for help and
was the first to die.

Today's verdict said there was about 30 minutes between
her making the call and falling unconscious and added: "It may have been
possible to rescue Catherine Hickman before she sustained fatal injuries."

The jury found there was a "serious failure on the
part of the SBDS (Southwark council Building Design Service), its contractors
and subcontractors".

New panels fitted under windows easily caught fire and
melted in a matter of minutes, dripping molten liquid onto flats below, while
smoke and fire flooded overhead panels and corridors between the flats.

The jury said Ms Hickman was overcome by "heat,
smoke and naked flame". The five other victims died from smoke inhalation
after huddling together in a tiny bathroom after being advised by a brigade
operator to stay in their flats.

It said the council had had "numerous
opportunities" to ensure that Lakanal House met fire safety standards but
failed to do so.

"The council's housing department didn't prioritise
carrying out fire risk assessments in all of its properties," the jury
said. "As a result, by 3rd July 2009, Lakanal House had not been
assessed."

The jury, which began hearing the inquest on January 14,
sat through harrowing evidence including a 20-second excerpt of the 999 call
made by Ms Hickman.

Ms Hickman, who had designed clothes for pop star Bjork
and worked in London and New York, screamed down the line to a fire
brigade phone operator: "Oh my God! Listen! I can see the flames at the
door."

But the rescue effort was hampered by a lack of knowledge
among fire crews of the layout of Lakanal House, meaning they failed to locate
the victims despite being given their precise locations.

Firefighters had at least 28 minutes to find Ms Hickman,
56 minutes for Ms Francisquini and her children and 58 minutes for Ms Udoaka
and her baby but failed to make it to their flats on the 11th floor in time.

The jury said there was a "serious failure" to
ensure the building redesign included "compartmentalisation" between
properties that would have given up to 60 minutes' respite from the spread of
fire.

The jury said "insufficient efforts were made to
prioritise" flat 81 where Dayana Francisquini was sheltering with eight
other residents, four of whom also perished.

Coroner Frances Kirkham had instructed the jury to return
narrative verdicts into each of the six deaths, preventing a verdict of
unlawful killing being returned.

She directed them to avoid suggesting or implying
criminal liability on the part of any individuals or organisation, saying this
was beyond an inquest jury's powers.

The fire began at about 4.15pm in flat 65 on the ninth
floor when a TV caught fire and spread when window panels melted in the intense
heat. Resident Jade Spence had only moved in 10 days earlier, and was forced to
flee after failing in her attempts to douse the blaze. The bereaved families
said they did not blame her for the tragedy.